Eames
The term “Eames” has come to represent furnishings or accessories in a certain time period. Proof of this can be found by simply doing an ebay search for “Eames” and see what you get. You get everything from art, to accessories, to furniture and collectibles. It is commonly known that the term “Eames” simply gives the designation of an item created and enjoyed in the mid century (1950-1970 ish).
The truth is that Charles and Ray Eames were a husband and wife team known for their designs of architecture, furniture, industrial design and manufacturing, and the arts. They thought about functionality as much as design, and sometimes with a notch of ‘play’.
Charles Eames was born in 1907 in Missouri. After college he worked in an architectural office. In 1929, he married his first wife, Catherine Woermann, but they divorced in 1941.
Ray Kaiser Eames was born in 1912 in Sacramento, California. After studying fashion design she moved to New York City and studied painting with Hans Hofmann. She soon met and assisted Charles and Eero Saarinen in preparing designs for the Museum of Modern Art’s Organic Furniture Competition where their molded plywood furniture won two first prizes.
Charles and Ray married in 1941 and moved to California where they joined talents and developed a process for molding plywood. During the war, the US Navy even commissioned them to produce molded plywood splints, stretchers, and other items and in 1946 they began producing their famous molded plywood furniture, and their molded plywood chair was deemed “the chair of the century”.
Herman Miller soon took over production and they continue to manufacture the furniture today.
Some of the most popular Eames furniture are the; lounge chair (and ottoman), molded fiberglass chairs, office chairs and desk chairs, plywood chairs, La Chaise, and wire chairs.
The famous wood and leather lounge chair and ottoman can be found in any edition of Architectural Digest, Metropolitan Home, or any mid century publication. It can also be seen in the stylish apartment of “Frasier Crane”. The aluminum office chairs all over cable news shows in all types of variations…thick padding, thin padding, white, black and sometimes red.
As these pieces are still being produced to date, they are pricey, and their resale price can be pricey too. Great for sellers though!
If you have any Eames items, or other mid century designer items from designers such as Eero Saaranin, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, Isamu Noguchi, Arne Jacobsen, or Edward Wormley, contact us for assistance and back up the brinks truck!
If you are in the tri-state area, contact our local office for assistance.
